Traction (The Driven World)

I have a feeling when I’m alone in bed tonight, I’ll replay this moment over and over again. I’ll remind myself of what I experienced and what he promised, and I know, without a doubt, I’ll find the release that’s waiting in the wings.

“I think we better behave now,” Kayden says, causing my heart to sink. But he’s right. My mother will have already started dinner, and we should spend time with her. Sadly, I know she’ll have a lot of questions for him. I just hope she doesn’t scare him away.

I don’t know what my dad would’ve made of Kayden, but I like him. I can’t deny it anymore. The lights slowly blink on, and I glance up to see that his ceiling is filled with tiny yellow spotlights, which makes it look like the sky is above the bed.

“Oh my god.” I gasp without thinking as I spin around, making myself dizzy in the process, but I love every inch of this bedroom.

“You approve, baby?” Kayden asks in a satisfied tone.

Lowering my eyes, I meet his inquisitive gaze. “I do.” The grin that greets me is handsome, and I’m still floored that this man is mine. At least for now. “So, you sleep under this?”

“I do,” he affirms as if I’m being silly for even asking him that. But I don’t see how he could have so many women on his arm and never have brought anyone here.

“Alone?”16KaydenThere’s shock in her voice. Disbelief that I have never brought another person into my bedroom. Not my friends and most definitely not my past conquests.

“Yes,” I confirm, stepping up closer to her. My hands land on her hips, and I tug her into me. The softness of her body against mine makes me want to deepen the hold. It makes me want to throw her on my bed and have my wicked way with her. But I chastise myself for thinking that. It’s too soon.

Yes, we’ve known each other for a few days, but this closeness is very fucking new. I lean in to kiss her, and she smiles when our lips touch. It’s chaste, gentle, and filled with affection. But Haelee molds to my body, her arms wrapping around my neck as she holds onto me.

“We’re going to be late,” I whisper over her mouth, feeling the grin on her face spread wider. “And if you keep pressing your tits against my chest, I’m not going to want to leave.”

“Maybe I don’t want to leave,” she counters with confidence that makes me smile. This girl never ceases to shock the shit out of me.

“Your mother will cut my dick off if she knows I’ve kept you from dinner because you had me inside your tight body.” Even though my words aren’t filthy, she shivers in my arms.

“I guess so,” Haelee whispers before pulling away, and I already miss the sweetness of her scent. “Grab whatever you needed, and we can go.”

Nodding, I leave her to explore my bedroom and head into the kitchen to find the bottle of wine I wanted to take to her mom. I could’ve stopped at the store to get one, I didn’t have to bring her here, but I needed her to see my home. The place I feel most myself.

Knowing that Haelee loves the place I live in does shit to me. It makes me feel warm, and I haven’t felt like that in a long while. Once I’ve packed the bottle along with a few other treats for dessert into a bag, I head for the bedroom to find her sitting on the bed.

“Ready?” I ask, causing her to practically leap off the mattress.

“Shit, you scared me.”

“You seemed deep in thought,” I remark as I eat up the distance between us.

Haelee curls into my arms and holds me tight. And that’s when I notice what she found on my nightstand. A photo I’d dropped on its front. One taken at my graduation of my dad and me.

“Come on, speedy.” I pull her along and out the door. We walk down the hallway, hand-in-hand. Silence is the only thing between us, and I can feel how many questions she has waiting for me.

They come when we reach the kitchen. “Do you think your dad would’ve liked me?” Her wide eyes shine as she looks up at me. Family is important to her. Even though she’s adopted, I can tell her mom is her life, and her dad, he must’ve been her hero.

“Yes, he would’ve loved you. You’re feisty, and you don’t take my shit.”

She laughs. “And your mom?” Those dark pools lock on mine, and I don’t know how to answer that. My mother is prickly at the best of times. She hates anyone and everyone she doesn’t think fits in her world. Not even her own son fits in her world.